6 candidates file for Oak Park and River Forest School Board

The man who has filed an official complaint accusing three Oak Park and River Forest High School teachers of antisemitism and the school administration of allowing a climate of antisemitism to exist at OPRF has filed to run for a seat on the OPRF District 200 Board of Education.

River Forest resident Nate Mellman was one of six people, including two incumbents, who filed to run in the April 1 School Board election. The six candidates are running for four seats on the OPRF School Board. Mellman, an administrative law judge for the Social Security Administration, is teaming up with Josh Gertz, a 36 year old lawyer from Oak Park, in the race.

“We are running together on a slate,” Mellman said. “We have similar objectives. He’s got a great background and has experience with employee benefits which would certainly come in handy.”

The other candidates in the race are incumbents Fred Arkin and Audrey Williams-Lee and first time candidates Kathleen Odell and Tania Mattera Haigh. Incumbents Mary Anne Mohanraj and School Board President Tom Cofsky decided not to run for reelection. Cofsky has served for 12 years on the OPRF School Board.

“I think three terms and 12 years is a major commitment; it’s enough,” Cofsky said. “It’s time to leave it to others to do the work.”

Mohanraj, who is in her first term on the School Board, said that she has too much else going on in her life to seek a second term.

On June 30, Mellman and 110 other signees submitted a formal complaint to the State Board of Education and the Civil Rights Bureau of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office accusing OPRF teachers Anthony Clark, Daniel Cohen and Wafaa Alwawi of unprofessional conduct and antisemitic statements and acts. Cohen and Alwawi are the co-sponsors of the school’s MENA club, the school’s club for students of Middle Eastern or North African descent.

The complaint points to a number of tweets posted by Clark over the years and alleges that Cohen and Alwawi endorsed the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. The complaint cites an image of bulldozer crashing through a fence that was posted on the MENA club’s Instagram page in late October and remained up for months. Over the past year, Mellman has repeatedly complained in writing to the school administration and School Board about what he considers an antisemitic atmosphere at the school in the wake of controversy over the war in Gaza.

It is unclear what, if anything, the attorney general’s office or ISBE has done with the complaint.

On Nov. 20, Mellman received a letter from the the Civil Rights Bureau of the Illinois Attorney General’s office saying the office is “continuing to review the complaint.”

“At this time, we are monitoring the issues described in the complaint for patterns and practices of discrimination or unlawful contact and will contact you if our investigation moves forward,” wrote Alison Hill, the supervising attorney of the Civil Rights Bureau.

A spokeswoman for ISBE said she couldn’t comment on the status of any investigation or even if an investigation is taking place.

“State law prohibits ISBE from commenting on or even confirming if an educator misconduct investigation or case is ongoing,” said Jackie Matthews, the executive director of communications for ISBE.

Mellman and Gertz both said they are not one issue candidates. Mellman said that he had three basic reasons for seeking a seat on the school board.

“One is to ensure that all kids are taught and challenged to their fullest potential, two, I want to always be an excellent steward of taxpayer money, and three I want to ensure that kids are kept safe,” Mellman said.

But Mellman is not shying away the issues he raised in the complaint.

“I stand by everything that I’ve said and written over the past year regarding antisemitism at the school,” Mellman said.

Clark, Cohen and Alwawi did not reply to requests for comment about Mellman’s candidacy or accusations.

Gertz, who works as an employee benefits counsel for USI Insurance Services, is also concerned about what he considers antisemitism at OPRF.

“I am alarmed by the increase in antisemitic actions and kind of the lack of the School Board’s response but I also want to continue and improve on the way the School Board is a steward and manages taxpayer funds,” Gertz said.

Gertz also said he is concerned about school safety.

“I think that there is a lot of room for improvement for campus and school safety,” Gertz said.

Arkin, a commercial insurance broker, is running for his third term on the School Board. He was initially elected in 2015, defeated when he ran for reelection in 2019, and elected again in 2021. He said while the School Board has achieved much during his tenures, he is seeking another term because he wants to see to completion a few more initiatives already underway.

“We’ve made significant progress and there is more work to be done,” said Arkin who graduated from OPRF in 1974 and is the only alumnus of the school on the board. “I just want to continue to make sure that the work goes on. I possess not only a foundation of board history since 2015, but because of my relationship with the school for decades, I have an institutional knowledge. It’s a perspective that lends to the board; some people who don’t have that kind of knowledge can benefit from.”

Williams-Lee, the board vice president and the only Black member, was appointed in 2023 to fill a vacancy created when Kebreab Henry resigned because he was moving out of state.

Williams-Lee said serving on the School Board has been a good experience.

“When I applied to fill the vacancy on the board, I shared my desire for the high school to remain vibrant, committed to excellence and equity, and to be radically inclusive — a place where all students feel they belong,” Williams-Lee wrote in an email. “OPRF is a great high school and we are making progress addressing the gaps. I am running for a full term to continue guiding and supporting all the good work underway.”

Odell, the associate provost and a Professor of Economics at Dominican University, has served since 2023 as a member of the OPRF’s Community Finance Committee, a group that advises the board on financial matters. She has two daughters who attend OPRF and said the recent national election inspired her to get more involved.

“I have a deep profound commitment to the importance of public education and I think since I work in the field myself and have education administrative experience it just seems like a good fit for me,” Odell said. “So I have an interest and I feel like I have a lot to offer on the board.”

As a member of the Community Finance Committee in 2023 Odell said the school should hold a referendum to sell bonds for the Project 2 construction project now under way. The board didn’t follow her advice and rather than hold a referendum it instead issued debt certificates, which don’t require a referendum, to help finance Project 2. Odell said that difference of opinion did not influence her decision to run.

“I don’t see a lot of value in relitigating decisions that have already been made,” Odell said. “I think the board made the best decision they could with the information that was available to them and I don’t have any ax to grind about that, not at all.”

Gertz said that he also thought the board should have held a referendum about Project 2.

“I think that certainly should have gone to referendum,” Gertz said. “An expenditure of that size, you need to make sure that the community is in agreement with it.”

Haigh is an Oak Park resident and the co-founder and the executive director of Kids Too, a nonprofit that, according to its website, advocates for policies that protect children from harmful adults, acts and ideologies in school environments.

Haigh could not immediately be reached for comment but according to her LinkedIn profile she is the founder and owner of Tania Haigh productions and the founder TedxOakPark which hosts events with speakers with compelling stories to tell.

From 2005 until 2014 Haigh worked in marketing for McDonald’s Corporation. According to the Kids Too website she currently substitute teaches in area schools.

Bob Skolnik is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.